When designing an electronic document viewing and processing system, e.g., as a section of an document scanner or a similar capture device, the human interface with the system must support, above all other functions, the selection and enhancement of images. As used herein, the human (or user) interface refers to the totality of the human interaction with the system, and the means for enabling such interaction, e.g., including the information presented by the system to the user, and by the user to the system, as well as the devices that enable such presentations. The system must also provide the ability to apply actions against these images, such as displaying the images for review, selecting portions of the images for special processing, or enhancing the images via certain image parameter adjustments. Such a system will often employ a number of adjustments, which ideally requires some familiarity on the part of the user; therefore, it is important for the user interface to encourage interaction that is as intuitive as possible so as to quickly lead the user through the necessary adjustments.
In typical existing scanners the user interface consists of a single screen having fields for user entry of a number of scan instructions, including instructions that trigger the initial scan of the original material to generate an image, that provide rotate and trim parameters for the image, that set the parameters necessary for enhancement of the image, and that save the image according to the preceding instructions and parameters. Such an interface necessarily treats all users alike, requiring each of them to complete the necessary entries in a fixed manner. If the interface is simple, it can accommodate most users; if, however, it is difficult, it may impede inexperienced users.
In the Snapshot Photo Scanner 1.TM. manufactured by Eastman Kodak Company, a user is interfaced with an image scanner by means of a series of display screens produced by a processor and presented to the user on a display device. Two modes are provided for interfacing with the user to set up the scanner, including an expert mode which confines the process to a small number of display screens in order to provide a shorter, more compact setup procedure for an experienced user, and a step-by-step mode which expands the process into a larger number of display screens in order to provide a longer, more intuitive setup procedure for an inexperienced user.
Even with the existing step-by-step mode, each step, such as an image enhancement step, is still designed to present all options for that step. Novice users, therefore, may sometimes still be presented with a bewildering array of selections. Thus, none of the foregoing systems integrate the needs of novice users into a completely effective presentation that intuitively leads the novice user, regardless of skill, through the available choices and options.